Agnes Ouzounian

 Questions on the Georgian translation of the Acts of the Apostles

1. One plurale tantum
1.1. The question of the pluralia tantum, id est substantives used only in the plural, is often put forward to uphold the fact that a text was translated from Armenian; Classical Armenian, as we know, includes a large number of terms which are not used in the singular. I will take here as an example the noun “sky”.

1.2. ცა-ნი ὁ οὐρανός երկին-ք erkin-k‘
The Armenian term երկին-ք erkin-k‘ “sky” is used usually in the plural. As for the Georgian term ცა-ჲ “sky”, it occurs both in the singular and in the plural.

1.2.1. In the Acts, the Georgian “sky” occurs three times in the plural, where Greek has a singular and Armenian has a plural.

Here are two of the three Georgian occurrences of “sky” in the plural (the plural is in red in the examples, the singular is in blue):

Ac 2,19
და ვსცე ნიშებ ცათა შინა და სასწაულ ქუეყანასა ზედა, სისხლი და ცეცხლი და არმური კუამლისაჲ
καὶ δώσω τέρατα ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ ἄνω καὶ σημεῖα ἐπὶ τῆς γῆσκάτω, αἷμα καὶ πῦρ καὶ ἀτμίδα καπνοῦ
Եւ տաց նշանս յերկինս ի վեր, եւ նշանս յերկիր ի խոնարհ, արիւն եւ հուր եւ մրրիկ ծխոյ։ ew tac‘ nšans yerkins i ver, ew nšans yerkir i xonarh, ariwn ew howr ew mrrik cxoy.
I will show wonders in the sky above, and signs on the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and billows of smoke.

Ac 7,49
ცანი საყდარნი ჩემნი არიან და ქუეყანაჲ კუარცხბერკი ფერჴთა ჩემთაჲ. რაბამი სახლი მიშჱნეთ მე, - თქუა უფალმან, - ანუ რაჲმე ადგილი იყოს განსასუენებელისა ჩემისაჲ?
῾Ο οὐρανός μοι ϑρόνος, ἡ δὲ γῆ ὑποπόδιον τῶν ποδῶν μου• ποῖον οἶκον οἰκοδομήσετέ μοι, λέγει κύριος, ἢ τίς τόπος τῆς καταπαύσεώς μου;
երկինք աթոռ իմ են, եւ երկիր պատուանդան ոտից իմոց. որպիսի՞ տուն շինեցէք ինձ՝ ասէ տէր. կամ զի՞նչ տեղի հանգստեան իմոյ. erkink‘ at‘oṙ im en, ew erkir patowandan otic‘ imoc‘. orpisi? town šinec‘êk‘ inj, asê têr. kam zi?nč‘ tełi hangstean imoy.
Heaven is my throne, and the earth a footstool for my feet. What kind of house will you build me? says the Lord; or what is the place of my rest?

1.2.2. But if these two verses are interesting, it's mostly because they are Old Testament quotations, taken respectively from Joel and Isaie. Yet, in both instances, “sky” is singular in the Georgian text of the Old Testament, as in Greek.

Joel 2,30 / LXX Joel 3,3
და ვსცე ნიშები ცასა შინა ზე და სასწაულებ ქუეყანასა ზედა ქუე, სისხლი და ცეცხლი და ალმური კუამლისა.
καὶ δώσω τέρατα ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, αἷμα καὶ πῦρ καὶ ἀτμίδα καπνοῦ•
Եւ տաց նշանս յերկինս ի վեր, եւ նշանս յերկիր ի խոնարհ, արիւն եւ հուր եւ մրրիկ ծխոյ։ ew tac‘ nšans yerkins i ver, ew nšans yerkir i xonarh, ariwn ew howr ew mrrik cxoy.
And I will shew wonders in the heaven and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.

Isaie 66,1
ცაჲ საყდარ ჩემდა, ხოლო ქუეყანა კუარცხლბეკ ფერჴთა ჩემთა, რომელი სახლი, ადგილი მიშენოთ მე? - თქუა უფალმან, - და რომელი ადგილი განსუენებისა ჩემისა?
῾Ο οὐρανός μοι ϑρόνος, ἡ δὲ γῆ ὑποπόδιον τῶν ποδῶν μου• ποῖον οἶκον οἰκοδομήσετέ μοι; ἢ ποῖος τόπος τῆς καταπαύσεώς μου;
երկինք աթոռ իմ են՝ եւ երկիր պատուանդան ոտից իմոց։ ո՞րպիսի տուն շինիցէք ինձ ասէ տէր, կամ ո՞րպիսի ինչ իցէ այն տեղի հանգստեան իմոյ։ erkink‘ at‘oṙ im en, ew erkir patowandan otic‘ imoc‘. o?rpisi town šinic‘êk‘ inj asê têr, kam o?rpisi inč‘ ic‘ê ayn tełi hangstean imoy.

The heaven [is] my throne, and the earth [is] my footstool: where [is] the house that ye build unto me? and where [is] the place of my rest.

Here is a summary table of the Georgian “sky”: plural in the Acts as in Armenian, singular in the Old Testament as in Greek:

...

1.3. Although the use of the plural for the noun “sky” in Georgian is nothing exceptional, yet it is remarkable to have a singular form in the two verses in the Old Testament and a plural form for their quotation in the Acts of the Apostles. It seems tempting to me to see a trace of the Armenian version in the quotation of these Old Testament verses in the Georgian translation of the Acts of the Apostles. Other examples could be given, where the Georgian and the Armenian texts show a plural while the Greek shows a singular. I could also give as many examples where the Georgian and the Armenian texts don't match. However I think that cases where the plural of the Georgian corresponds to an Armenian plurale tantum should be considered in the question of knowing how big an influence had the Armenian text of the Acts of the Apostles in the Georgian translation.

In my comparative reading of the Acts in Greek, Georgian and Armenian, I came across a verb phrase which seemed odd and on which I propose to stop a moment.

2. A singular verb phrase
2.1. The Armenian verb phrase հրաման տամ hraman tam, literally “to give order”, is quite common. However, the most common verb which means “to give an order, to order” is the verb հրամայեմ hramayem, which, in the Bible, conveys very often the Greek κελεύω; generally, in Georgian, we find the only verb ბრძანება as a translation of κελεύω.

2.2. There are two occurrences of the phrase հրաման տամ hraman tam in the Acts of the Apostles. In one of these occurrences, in Ac 7,44 , we find, for this verb phrase, the Greek verb διατάσσω . However, there is an exact equivalent of the Armenian verb phrase in the Georgian text: ბრძანების მიცემა “to give order ”.

Ac 7,44
კარავი იგი საწამებელი იყო მამათა ჩუენთა თანა უდაბნოსა მას ზედა, ვითარცა-იგი ბრძანებაჲ მისცა მან, რომელ-იგი ეტყოდა მოსეს აღსაქმედ მისა მსგავსად საქმისა მის, რომელ-იგი ეხილვა მას.
῾Η σκηνὴ τοῦ μαρτυρίου ἦν τοῖς πατράσιν ἡμῶν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, καϑὼς διετάξατο ὁ λαλῶν τῷ Μωϋσῇ ποιῆσαι αὐτὴν κατὰ τὸν τύπον ὃν ἑωράκει.
Խորանն վկայութեան էր ընդ հարսն մեր յանապատին. որպէս հրաման ետ որ խօսէրն ընդ մովսիսի, առնել զայն ըստ օրինակին զոր ետես։ xorann vkayowt‘ean êr ënd harsn mer yanapatin. orpês hraman et or xôsêrn ënd movsisi, aṙnel zayn ëst ôrinakin zor etes.

Our fathers had the tabernacle of the testimony in the wilderness, even as he who spoke to Moses commanded him to make it according to the pattern that he had seen.

2.3. There is, in this verse of the Acts, a reference to the Old Testament, more precisely to the Exodus. The order that Moses received to make the “tabernacle of testimony” according to the pattern he had seen is given in the verses Ex 25,9 and Ex 25,40:

Ex 25,9
καὶ ποιήσεις μοι κατὰ πάντα, ὅσα ἐγώ σοι δεικνύω ἐν τῷ ὄρει, τὸ παράδειγμα τῆς σκηνῆς καὶ τὸ παράδειγμα πάντων τῶν σκευῶν αὐτῆς• οὕτω ποιήσεις.
According to all that I shew thee, [after] the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make.

Ex 25,40
ὅρα ποιήσεις κατὰ τὸν τύπον τὸν δεδειγμένον σοι ἐν τῷ ὄρει.
And look that thou make [them] after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount:

2.4. Yet in the Armenian and the Georgian Bibles, there is a more accurate matching of Ac 7,44; that is the verse Ex 38,21 which includes both in Armenian and in Georgian, the same verb phrase “to give order”:

Ex 38,21
და ესე არს ბრძანებისა განწესებაჲ კარვისა მის საწამებელისაჲ, ვითარცა-იგი ბრძანებაჲ მოსცა მოსეს მსახურებისა მის ყოფაჲ ლევიტელთა ითამარის მიერ, ძისა აჰრონის მღდლისაჲთა.
Եւ այս էր պայման խորանին վկայութեան. որպէս հրաման ետ մովսիսի կազմել զպաշտօնն ղեւտացւոցն ի ձեռն իթամարայ որդւոյ ահարոնի քահանայի։ ew ays êr payman xoranin vkayowt‘ean. orpês hraman et movsisi kazmel zpaštônn łewtac‘woc‘n i jeṙn it‘amaray ordwoy aharoni k‘ahanayi.
This is the sum of the tabernacle, [even] of the tabernacle of testimony, as it was counted, according to the commandment of Moses, [for] the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, son to Aaron the priest.

2.5. Thus, if in Armenian the phrase is nothing exceptional, on the other hand, its Georgian equivalent ბრძანების მიცემა / ბრძანების მოცემა remains quite singular. It seems difficult to me to explain the use of the verb phrase ბრძანების მიცემა in Georgian in this verse of the Acts of the Apostles other than by the Armenian.

The last point of this lecture is about the question of preverb forms.

3. The preverb forms
3.1. The question of preverb forms arises in a whole different way from the question of the pluralia tantum in the debate about the language from which was translated the text of the Acts of the Apostles into Georgian. Indeed, at the time the Bible was translated, Armenian knows only very marginally the formation of the verbs by preverbation; the Armenian text has nothing to say here. On the other hand, the question of the preverb forms is of particular interest in Georgian. Indeed, not only the preverbs are not rare in Georgian but the preverbation is a common process to form verbs and, if I may say so, an intrinsic way to form words in Georgian. As proof of this, I'll cite the following sentence taken from the Martyrdom of Shushanik, text reputed to be the first to have been composed in Georgian:

Martyrdom of Shushanik 16,26,8
თანადაუჯდა და ჰკითხვიდა სალმობათა მათთჳს.
He sat down with her and questioned her about her troubles.

where we find the form თანადაუჯდა made up of the preverbs თანა and და.

3.2. But back to the Acts of the Apostles. In his article published in les Mélanges offerts à Gilles Dorival, Bernard Outtier introduced a list of two preverbs verbal forms in Georgian which correspond to a two preverbs verbal form in Greek. There are four in the Acts of the Apostles, or more precisely three different verbs for four occurrences:

Ac 1,26 : თანა-შე-ერაცხა: συγ-κατ-εψηφισθη.
Ac 3,18: წინაჲსწარ-აღ-უთქუა: προ-κατ-ηγγειλεν.
Ac 12,25: თანა-წარ-იყვანეს: συμ-παρα-λαβοντες.
Ac 15,37: თანა-წარ-იყვანა: συμ-παρα-λαβειν.
It should be emphasized that there is an exact match between the first preverb of the Georgian text and the first preverb of the Greek text in these verbal forms:

συν- თანა-
προ- წინაჲსწარ-

But should we conclude from this that the Georgian necessarily depends on the Greek? Yes, you say. But wouldn't it be too simple?
The data, in fact, are complex. Indeed, we may as well find double preverb forms in Georgian, corresponding to a single preverb form in Greek, and vice versa, single preverb forms in Georgian corresponding to a double preverb form in Greek.

3.3. Thus, we can oppose the verse Ac 7,52 to Ac 3,18: the two verses have the same Greek double preverb verb προ-κατ-αγγέλλω. If in Georgian we find a double preverb form in Ac 3,18, however, in Ac 7,52, we find a single preverb form – I put aside the question of the grammatical nature of წინაჲსწარ, preverb or simply adverb.

Ac 3,18
ხოლო რომელი-იგი ღმერთმან წინაჲსწარ აღუთქუა პირითა ყოველთა წინაჲსწარმეტყუელთა მისთა მიერ, ვნებაჲ ცხებულისა მისისაჲ, აღასრულა ესრჱთ.
ὁ δὲ ϑεὸς ἃ προκατήγγειλεν διὰ στόματος πάντων τῶν προϕητῶν παϑεῖν τὸν Χριστὸν αὐτοῦ ἐπλήρωσεν οὕτως.
But the things which God announced by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he thus fulfilled.

Ac 7,52
და მოწყჳდნეს, რომელნი-იგი წინაჲსწარ უთხრობდეს მოსლვასა მას წმიდისასა… [OGL წინაწარ უთხრობდეს]
καὶ ἀπέκτειναν τοὺς προκαταγγείλαντας περὶ τῆς ἐλεύσεως τοῦ δικαίου…
they killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One…

Similarly, if in Ac 12,25 and Ac 15,37 the double preverb verb συμ-παρα-λαμβάνω is translated თანა-წარ-ყვანება, double preverb verb, on the other hand, the first preverb, συν-, of the Greek verb is not translated in Ac 15,38, which has a “simple” წარყვანება:

Ac 12,25
თანაწარიყვანეს იოვანეცა, რომელსა სახელი წოდებული იყო მარკოს
συμπαϱαλαβόντες καὶ ᾿Ιωάννην τὸν ἐπικληϑέντα Μάρκον
also taking with them John whose surname was Mark

Ac 15,37
ბარნაბას ესრე უნდა, რაჲთამცა იოჰანე თანაწარიყვანა
Βαρνάβας δὲ ἐβουλεύσατο συμπαραλαβεῖν τὸν ᾿Ιωάννην
Barnabas planned to take John, who was called Mark, with them also.

Ac 15,38
არა წარყვანებად იგი
μὴ συμπαραλαβεῖν τοῦτον
not to take with them

3.4. Conversely, in Ac 15,39, we find the double preverb verb თანა-წარ-ყვანება in Georgian, where the Greek has a single preverb verb παρα-λαμβάνω:

Ac 15,39
და ბარნაბა თანა წარიყვანა მარკოს
τόν τε Βαρναβᾶν παραλαβόντα τὸν Μᾶρκον
Barnabas took Mark with him.

3.5. There are also cases where, in front of a double preverb form in Greek, the Georgian has a form without a preverb. As follows:

Ac 1,6
კუალად მოაგო სასუფეველი ისრაჱლსა
ἀποκαθιστάνεις τὴν βασιλείαν τῷ ᾽Ισραήλ
you are now restoring the kingdom to Israel

where the adverbe კუალად translates in a way the preverb ἀπο-.
or:
Ac 22,21
და მრქუა მე: "წარვედ, რამეთუ მე ნათესავთა შორიელთა მიგავლინო შენ".
καὶ εἶπεν πρός με, Πορεύου, ὅτι ἐγὼ εἰς ἔϑνη μακρὰν ἐξαποστελῶ σε.
He said to me, ‘Depart, for I will send you out far from here to the Gentiles.’

3.6. In this verse Ac 22,21, there is the Greek verb ἐξ-απο-στέλλω. However, in front of this verb ἐξ-απο-στέλλω, the Georgian may have a verb with no preverb as here in Ac 22,21 but also the same verb with the preverb წარ- (Ac 7,12) or another verb with the preverb გან- (Ac 17,14):

Ac 7,12
და წარავლინნა მამანი ჩუენნი პირველად
ἐξαπέστειλεν τοὺς πατέρας ἡμῶν πρῶτον
he sent out our fathers the first time.

Ac 17,14
მუნქუესვე განიყვანნეს ძმათა მათ პავლე და წარგზავნეს იგი ზღჳსკიდით კერძო
εὐθέως δὲ τότε τὸν Παῦλον ἐξαπέστειλαν οἱ ἀδελφοὶ ποϱεύεσθαι ὡς ἐπὶ τὴν ϑάλασσαν
Then the brothers immediately sent out Paul to go as far as to the sea.

3.7. Note, finally, that the single preverb verb წარ-ვლინება found in Ac 7,12 to translate the double preverb verb ἐξ-απο-στέλλω, also translates the single preverb verb ἀποστέλλω in Ac 7,14:

Ac 7,14
წარავლინნა იოსეფ…
ἀποστείλας δὲ ᾽Ιωσὴϕ…
Joseph sent…

3.8. We could multiply such examples, but I will only give a non exhaustive list of the verses that contain a double preverb form in Greek or in Georgian:

...

3.9. I haven't found an example of a Georgian double preverb verb corresponding to a Greek form with no preverb, but if we don't limit ourselves strictly to the verbal forms, the list goes on with the following example:

Ac 27,40
და კავნი იგი მოჰჴსნნეს და უტევნეს ზღუად, და მას თანა მიუტევნეს თანაშესაუღლებელნი იგი საჭეთანი, და აღიპყრეს აფრაჲ იგი მცირჱ, და ქარით კერძო ეპყრა კიდედგან.
καὶ τὰς ἀγκύρας περιελόντες εἴων εἰς τὴν ϑάλασσαν, ἅμα ἀνέντες τὰς ζευκτηρίας τῶν πηδαλίων, καὶ ἐπάραντες τὸν ἀρτέμωνα τῇ πνεούσῃ κατεῖχον εἰς τὸν αἰγιαλόν.
Casting off the anchors, they left them in the sea, at the same time untying the rudder ropes. Hoisting up the foresail to the wind, they made for the beach.

where თანაშესაუღლებელი “strap” which translates ζευκτηρία is a derivative of a verb not documented elsewhere.

3.10. What I'd like to emphasize in conclusion to this question of the preverb forms, is that if it happens that there is correspondance between Georgian and Greek on a certain number of double preverb forms, there is nothing systematic, nothing automatic. At the opposite, the Georgian translator of the Acts of the Apostles, if he had a Greek text before him, at no time shown servility but acted very freely, translating the double preverb forms sometimes with a double preverb form, sometimes with a single preverb form, sometimes by a form with no preverb or by a verb with an adverb.

4. At the end of this linguistic journey which took as its starting point the Georgian “sky” and the point of arrival the preverb forms through the verb phrase “to give order”, it seems reasonable to think that the Georgian version of the Acts of the Apostles depends on the Greek, but it is not excluded that it retains here and there some traces of the Armenian text.

Elguja Khintibidze

The Path of The Man in a Panther-Skin to England  and English Historical Sources

While searching the trace of The Man in a Panther-Skin’s plot in the English dramaturgy, I got interested in the stories related to Georgians promoted on the Court of Shah Abbas I in Persia; mainly, in the fact of the collaboration be­tween the Georgians promoted on the Shah’s Court in the late 16^th century, Alaverdi Khan in particular, and the team of Eng­lish diplomats led by Anthony Sherley at the end of the centu­ry.

The first foreigner to pay attention to my research about the plot of The Man in a Panther-Skin as a literary source of the English dramaturgy at the beginning of the 17^th century was an English writer and a scholar Anthony Anderson. While conversing with him about the issues for the first time, he me­tioned that he had read from some sources that Anthony Sherley received some support from the Christian wives of Shah

Abbas. He once again mentioned this fact during the presentation of my book (“Medieval Georgian Romance The Man in a Panther-Skin and Shakespeare’s Late Dramaturgy”) in November 2018 at the London, Royal Asiatic Society.

This fact provoked some questions such as:  where might  my English colleague have read about this fact? Is this information based upon any primary sources or it is just a conjecture? Who were those two Christian wives mentioned by Anderson? Were they Georgians? According to the old Georgian traditions, the book of MPS was one of the most valuable components of a dowery for Georgian brides.

I, along with my students and colleagues, have actively been involved in the research of the issue since the last year. The outcome was promt. My PhD student Nini Jighauri and I found the article dedicated to Anthony Sherley in the Diction­ary of National Biography that reads the following: “The two favourite wives of Shah Abbas were Christians and they procured for Shirley a very promising reception. He won, too, the regard of Aly-verd Beg, the chief of the army, and the rank of mirza, or prince, was conferred upon him” [4].

I carried on my research by studying the references in­dicated in the article dedicated to the biography of Anthony Sherley. These literary sources also refered to other records de­scribing Sherley’s voyage in Persia. The article about the Sherley family, by General Briggs [2, pp. 77-104] turned out to be of the greatest importance in terms of the issue posed above. The Shah’s Christian wives who helped Anthony Sherley were Georgians. Records about Shah’s two favourite wives – Geor­gians by nationality and Christians by religion – are also men­tioned in the volumes of the 18^th century English Universal History [8]. The question remains: what was the source sup­porting the notes permeating the English literature of the 17^th and 19^th centuries’, according to which the expedition led by Sherley was supported by the two Christian wives on the Court of the Shah.

English historical surveys, while discussing the issue, refer to Thomas Herbert, an English attaché on the Court of the Shah. Thomas Herbert issued two books on Persia in the 17^th century. Besides these books, regarding the issue, I studied the book by Anthony Shirley, describing the Author’s travel to Persia [9], published in London in 1613.

The facts concerning Shah’s two Georgian wives are more or less in accordance with one another and require de­tailed study in terms of detecting the Georgian trace on the Court of Shah Abbas.

Anthony Sherley about the Shah’s Georgian, Christian wives. Sir Anthony Sherley was a prominent English diplomat and a traveller of the 16^th-17^th century. At the end of 1598 he, accompanied by the delegation of 26 people, visited Shah Ab­bas’s Court. He contributed to the growth of the hostile atti­tudes toward Turkey in Persia. Sherley stayed there for 6 months and later was able to visit many European countries in the rank of the Persian ambassador.

Sherley was unable to return to England since his diplomatic mission to Persia was not agreed with Queen Elizabeth the First. Besides, the Earls sponsoring him were un­covered and punished for plotting against the Queen. Despite the fact that the political situation in England drastically changed after the death of the Queen, he failed to obtain per­mission to go back to his country. Anthony Sherley, who had a good command of several languages, was an intelligent person. He and the Earls sponsoring him had tight contacts with The Royal National Theatre in England. According to one English author of the 19^th century, Sherley provided the plot for the Royal Troupe; besides, by exaggerating certain facts, the auther states that even the early drafs of the Shakespeare’s late period plays were created by Sherley himself [11].

It is believed that Sherley definitely exaggerated his personal merits and contribution in the book printed in Lon­don in 1613, while describing his travels to Persia. However, the most important is that he narrates the facts he was the eyewitness of and presented the historical facts in the way they permeated the elite circles of the Shah’s court. Therefore, it can be assumed that his narrations, regarding these facts, which were not direclty related to his personal merits, were not ex­agerated.

There are only two wives of the Shah mentioned by Sherley and both of them are Georgian Christians. According to the author, the first one is the daughter of the King of Kartli – Simon. As Shirley puts it [9, pp. 44-45]: Shah Abass claimed the Georgian Princess, the daughter of the King of Kartli Simon (according to Sherley, the princess was ready to provide the love required). A little below that the author returns to this topic and writes that the Queen escorted by 2000 horsemen and her brother, the prince Byraike Myrza, arrived at the Shah’s court. Soon the marriage took place and both parties provided adequate ceremonies for the wedding. The God blessed both of them and in less than a year they had their firstborn son, Prince – Sophir Mirza who was still alive.

According to Sherley, the story related to the second wife is linked to the death of the first one. Following the narra­tion of some episodes from Shah’s life, he describes Abbas’s vis­it to one of the Khan’s land. To alleviate his boredom the Shah spent either eight or ten days hunting.  However, he aban­doned the place as he heard the news about his wife’s death of a sudden and severe illness. The Shah returned to Ispahan where he spent several days in pain and sorrow because of the immense loss he had suffered. Afterwards, he sent a messenger to another King of Georgia, Aleksandre, making a marriage proposal for his daughter with the intent to maintain the rela­tionship that might disappear after the passaway of the Queen. The person sent to the Georgian king was Xa-Tamas Coolibeague, who, returned to the Shah together with the lady mentioned above in several months [9, p. 57].

Thus, Anthony Sherley, in his vast review of adventures in Persia, mentions only Shah’s two wives – two Georgian Christian Princesses, the daughters of the Kings (according to Persian Court title – the daughters of Georgian Khans).

Two Georgian Christian wives supporting Sherley men­tioned in English historiography, are those princesses noted by Sherley himself in his survey described above. Furthermore, these historical surveys are not solely based on the notes pro­vided by Sherley. These sources mention the names of the princesses and tell the stories of their offsprings as well.

The English historiography about the Shah’s wives, who assisted Sherley.Shah’s favourite Georgian, Christian wives assisting Sherley during his travel are mentioned by a distant descendant of the Sherley family, Evelyne Philip Shirley in her historical review of the Sherley family (Shirley Evelyn Philip – 1812-1882): “Sir Anthony Shirley’s favourable reception at Kazveen, by Shah Abbas the Great, at this period King of Persia, has been ascribed by Major General Briggs, in his interesting Memoir on the Shirley Family, to the influence possessed by the ladies of the Court, (his two favourite wives being Christian) over that celebrated monarch” [10, p. 19].

General Briggs writes in his brief review “A Short Ac­count of the Sherley Family”: “The favourable reception of Sir Anthony Sherley and his company in Persia may be accounted for by the great toleration of Shah Abbass towards Christians, owing, perhaps, to the influence possessed by the ladies of the court over that monarch. Sir Thomas Herbert thus quaintly describes this circumstance; and no greater proof of their influ­ence could be afforded than that of Georgians receiving the title of Khan and Mirza at the king’s hands – titles which are now strictly confined to Moslems.

 ‘Abbass had several wives, who had several children, for whose education neither cost nor care was spared. Of the most promising he loved were Ismael, Tophy Mirza, Kodabun­da Sultan, and Iman Kooly, The two first by Gordina, daughter of Simon Khan, and the two latter by Martha, daughter of Scanda Mirza, both Georgians, both Christians; and so dear to Abbass‘ ”that is seemed he had then got the elixir of earthly happiness’ ” [2, p. 88].

The 17^th century Universal History (the reference made above) reveals similar facts, naming Thomas Herbert as its pri­mary source. The story starts with the treacherous deeds by the Shah towards his offsprings and develops as follows:

            “HERBERT, who travelled into Persia in the reign of Shâh Abbâs, gives a different account of this affair. He says, that Abbâs had four sons, the eldest Ismael, Sofi Mîrza, Koda­bânda Soltân, and Emangoli. The two first born of Gordina, daughter of Simon Khân: the two latter of Martha, daughter of Skander Mîrza, both Georgian Christians. Ismael, giving jeal­ousy by his delighting in arms, was poisoned. Sofi Mîrza (who is the Safi, or Sefi, of Olearius), although extolled, at first, for revealing a conspiracy, was at length thrown down, and crushed to death by kapiji. Emangoli (or Imâm Kûli), upon be­ing told by a witch, that he should not live long, grew fearful of his father’s temper, and died of melancholy. Kodabânda Soltân, surnamed Sofi, now the only son living, was a prince of great endowments; and had signalized himself so much in the wars, that his father doated on him, and the people admired him: but this popularity made Abbâs resolve to destroy him” [8, p. 443].

Thomas Herbert about Shah Abbas’s Georgian Christian Wives and their offsprings.Thomas Herbert, on whose information the English Historical Writing relies up­onwhen stating facts about the Shah and his two Christian wives and their offsprings, was a prominent politician of the 17^th century English Court. He served as an English attaché on the Persian Court during the Shah’s late years. Therefore, his records can be considered as the primary source for studying the history of the Safavid Dynasty. Thomas Herbert is the au­thor of two books on the History of Persia. I got acquainted with the book “A Description of the Persian Monarchy” pub­lished in London, in 1634. The book provides a separate chap­ter on the topic of Georgian-Persian relationship under the name of “A Late Tragicall History of the Georgians, Christians” [7, pp. 72-82], describing hard times the King of Kakheti – Ale­ksander, his son Konstantine and King Teumuraz had to go through. The book does not provide any notes concerning the Shah’s Georgian wives. The second book The Travels in Persia revised by Thomas Herbert himself was published four times during his life in 1634, 1638, 1665 and 1677.

In 1928, in London Sir William Foster released a criti­cal edition of Herbert’s publication of 1677 with his Introduc­tion and notes. This edition is a little shorter version of the original text. According to the publisher, he ruthlessly excised the descriptive passages of the places Herbert had never visited as well as some ideas of other authors and facts with nohistori­cal value [6, XII]. At the moment I have the publicationof the critical text issued in 2014 in which on the pages 160-167, the author starts the story of the Georgian Christian wives of the Shah Abbas start as follows (there are multiple citations of the beginning of this story found in English historical writings):

“Abbas by diverse wives had several children, for whose education neither cost nor care was spared. Of most hope were Ismael, Soffy-mirza, Codobanda-Sultan, and Eman­goly, four brave young Princes. The two first were begot on Gordina, daughter of Simon-cawn; the latter two of Martha, daughter of Scander-mirza, both Georgians, both Christians. The first lady was brought thence by Kurchiki-cawn, the other by Shaw-Tamas-Coolibeg, both being Persians, both favourites: all of them so dear to Abbas that it seemed he then had got the elixir of earthly happiness: his wives were so incomparably beautiful, his favourites so exactly faithful; and his sons so live­ly the characters of his person, policy, and courage – recipro­cally joying the aged King, and overjoying the warlike Per­sians” [6, pp. 160-161].

Afterwards, Herbert narrates about the Shah’s treach­erous deeds towards his sons: Ismail and Sefi-Mirza died upon the consent of their envious father at the age of 19, as the for­mer was famous for his military skillsand the latter - for his loyal service to the Court. Emangoly, who, according to a horo­scope was predicted to have a difficult life and who dreaded his treacherous father, died of deep melancholy.

Then the author develops a detailed narration concern­ing the tragic story of Kodabunda Sultan (later called Seffi). He gained respect for his commitment to the country and the Shah. With his courage and experience as well as his military skills, he was able to gain the recognition and the respect of the Oriental World. His jealous and envious father first slew his mentor and then blinded his wounded son, who came to the rescue of his mentor. Blinded Seffi was unable to reconcile himself with his fate, and following the steps of his father’s brutality, strangled his daughter Fatima (a favourite grand­daughter of elderly Abbas) to revenge on his father, and then killed himself. Herbert narrates the stories emotionally through philosophical explanations.

The author’s notes regarding the late period of the Shah’s life are considered as the significant primary source for studying the issues. Generally, Herbert’s notes are confirmed by the historians studying Georgian trace on the Court of the Shah, however, they refer only to his book – A Description of the Persian Monarchy [14, p. 10; 17, p. 105; 18, p. 82]. Howev­er, amongst the studies by Georgian scholars dedicated to this issue I was unable to find any reference to the Book – Travels in Persia. I hope that the notes about the two Georgian wives of Shah Abbas and their sons, preserved in the primary sources mentioned above will become the main subject of the critical study by Georgian historians and these versions will beplaced in juxtaposition with the notes about the Shah’s sons preserved in Persian, Georgian, Armenian and other sources. At this point, I find it reasonable to go back to the main topic of the research question.

Comments on English Original Sources.The cited notes on the primary sources of the English historiography concern­ing the Georgian trace at the Shah’s Court, compared to the opinion permeating into Georgian literary circles, evince not only novelties but also differences.

Accoridng to the dominant opinion in the Georgian lit­erary circles, Shah Abbas’s four wives, (a sister of Andukhapar Amilakhvar – Tamar, Pakhrijan-Begum – The King Simon’s sister. Elene – Teimuraz’s sister and Lela – Luarsab’s sister) were Georgians [21, p. 198; 17, p. 109]. The notes in the Eng­lish historiography are not in accordance with those presented in the Georgian historiography. These details require some crit­ical analyses on our part and there are several circumstances we should pay more attention to.

Different viewpoints of various primary sources on the Shah’s Georgian wives are not surprising at all. Non-Georgian authors, Persians amongst them, learnt about the names of these ladies through various social, religious, and cultural circles. It is understandable that the authors of various reports and some researchers not expressing any particular interest in the subject, refer to the Shah’s wives by one name only (given in the Persian environment). However, Georgian sources iden­tify the Georgian brides mostly through Georgian names.

According to Georgian as well as foreign historical sources, at the request of the Shah Abbas’s father Mohammad Khodabanda, the King of Kartli–Simon and the King of Kakheti – Aleksander sent their daughters to Persia to marry the Per­sian Prince Hamza-Mirza [20, p. 271; 13, p. 99; 19, p. 42; 15, p. 47]. Prince Hamza-Mirza died in 1587, which led to the en­thronement of Shah Abbas. We should also consider the fact that, according to the Muslim tradition, brothers often married the wives of a deceased brother. Olgan Pashan Khanum, one of the widows of Hamza-Mirza is referred to as one of Shah Abass’s wives by the English Wikipidia in the article on Shah Abbas [1].

Unlike the Georgian historical sources, the same article from the English Wikipidia refers to Fakhri-Jahan Khanum– the daughter of The King of Kartli Bagrat VII and Fatima Sultan Begumthe daughter of the Peykar Khan of Kakheti (“alias Peri Lala, nèe Tinatin, daughter of Peykar Khan of Kakheti”) as Shah Abbas’s wives. These data are also confirmed by the Georgian article about Shah Abbas from Wikipidia. The King of Kartli George X is refered to as the father of Fatima Sultan Begum[12].

One of the most compelling facts different from the ones publicized by Georgian scholalry circles, regarding Shah Abbass’ Georgian wives, has been revealed by the English his­toriographical notes according to which, Shah’s wives, the daughters of the Kings Simon and Aleksander, are without any doubt refered toas the Shah’s Georgian, Christian wives. This would not lead us to thinking that they (the Georgian brides) were Christians only by origin. I assume that this emphasis on their Christianity refers to the fact that they maintained their Christian faith even after marrying the Shah. This fact is supris­ing indeed as all Christians (with some exceptions), sojourning the Shah’s court were converted to Islam immediately on their arrival. This categorical implication to Christianity of these two wives by English historiography was not accidental. In the epi­sode discussing the Shah’s wives, Thomas Herbert mentions two Mahmadian servants of Shah Abbas –Kurchik-Khan and Shah-Thamas-Khulibeg, referring to them as Persions as if in contrast with the two Christian wives mentioned in the same passage (While, – Shah-Thamas-Khulibeg was a Georgian Christian by origin converted to Muslim [9, p. 73]. Apparently, these two wives remained Christians and were not converted to Islam at the Shah’s Court.

Marrying Christian wives without converting them to Islam was one  of the most important political and state  strategies of Shah Abbas that became apparent at the turn of 16^th-17^th centuries, when the Shah, along with European Monarchs attempted to create a coalition against the Turks.  He did his best to prove his loyalty and sympathy to the Christians. This idea was many times reinfornced on the basis of numerous facts throughout the history.

This period coincides with the reception of a big group of English travellers at the Shah’s court and the same period is reflected in the records by Anthony Sherley concerning the Christian wives of the Shah. Shah Abbas sent Anthony Sherley as a Persian ambassador to Europe in May of 1599. Anthony Sherley delivered the Shah’s letters to the Pope of Rome and to many European Monarchs as well as to a lot of Counts and Earls.

Along those letters, Sherley carried a diplomatic list emphasizing Shah’s benevolent and merciful attitude towards Christians that was reinforced by the Shah’s marriage to the daughter of the Georgian Khan Simon [3, p. 78; 16, p. 200]. The Chronicle of the Carmelitshas retained a note from the letter sent by the Pope of Rome Climentes VIII to the Shah’s Chris­tian wife in February of 1601, referring to her as a Beloved Sis­ter in Christ. In this letter the Pope reminds her of the words from The Epistles of Paul according to which a pagan spouse can be purified by a Christian spouse, and urges her to serve the Christian religion with loyalty and commitment [13, p. 103].

Finally, there are several discrepancies between the English original sources and the common opinions concerning the issue of the Shah Abbas’s Georgian wives. According to the English sources, the Georgian Christian wives of Shah Abbas are considered to be the daughters of the King Simon and the King Aleksander; however, Georgian historiography fails to name the daughters of the two Georgian Kings – Simon and Aleksander to be the Shah’s wives.

As already mentioned above, Simon and Aleksander sent their daughters (who later became the wives of the prince Hamza-Mirza) along with their sons, to Persia upon the de­mand of Shah Abbas’s father – Mohammad Khodabanda. The ladies mentioned by Sherley and Thomas Herbert are definitely not the wives of the Prince Hamza Mirza. One of Hamza Mir­za’s widow Olgan Pasha Khanum is referred to as the Shah’s wife by the English Wikipedia; however, Shah-Abbas’s Chris­tian wives were a lot younger than Olgan Pasha Khanum. Sherley narrates the stories regarding the Shah’s wives as if these were the events taking place during his stay at the Shah’s Court (around 1598-1601). The same idea was supported by the diplomatic list delivered by Sherley to Europe (1599) which mentioned the Shah’s Christian wife and the letter of the Pope sent to her in 1601. Finally, Thomas Herbert, in the context of the Shah’s Christian wives, mentions the advanced age of the Shah. 

Gordina, the Shah’s wife, mentioned by Thomas Her­bert was identified by Ser William Foster – the publisher of Herbert’s book –Travels in Persia(1928). He writes in the commentaries [5, p. 320]: ”Herbert’s ‘Gordina’ was apparently Thinatin, younger sister of Luarsab II, King of Kartli (Georgia)”. The English wikipidia mentioned Tinatin, (along with another name – Alias Peri Lala), as a maiden name of the Shah’s wife – Fatima Sultan Begum – in the biographical review of Shah Ab­bas I. This Princess was considered a daughter of Peykar Khan of Kakheti. According to the Georgian Wikipidia, Fatima Sul­tan Begum is Elene Bagrationi – a daughter of The King of Kartli Giorgi X. She must be Lela, mentioned by me above, the youngest sister of Luarsab II.

Changing a Georgian name of a daughter of the King Giorgi X at the Shah’s Court should not be surprising at all, however, the fact that Herbert calls her Gordina (repeated by English surveyors of Sherley’s biography) does raise some ques­tions.  Should we assume that the name (Gordina) is just a mis­pronunciation of theGeorgian princess’ nickname Gorgina (perhaps Georgian) permeating atthe Shah’s court or among the group of Englishmen soujourning at the Court at the time?

The most challenging is the question why the daughter of Giorgi X and the sister of Luarsab II, sent to the Shah’s Court is referred to as a daughter of the King of Kartli– Simon I. We should not assume that this is the mistake made by Herbert. Even Sherley regards this lady to be a daughter of King Simon. Anthony Sherley’s book is not the only source Herbert relies upon. It is apparent that he bases himself upon some other sources as well.

It is more reasonable to study this issue along with an­other discrepancy revealed in the notes provided by both Thomas Herbert and English historical literature. Thomas Her­bert, as well as Shirley, considersthe other Christian wife of the Shah – Martha to be the daughter of King Aleksander. Howev­er, according to all of the sources discussed above, Martha is regarded to be a sister of King of Kakheti – Teimuraz and a daughter of King of Kakheti–David I. She is a granddaughter of King of Kakheti Aleksandre II. Besides, the Shah’s Christian wife referred to as Gordina by Herbert must be a granddaugh­ter rather than a daughter of King Simon – the King of Kartli.

 It is less likely that this is the mistake made solely by Sherley and Herbert. The diplomatic list delivered by Sherley to Europe mentions the fact that the Shah married a Georgian, Christian Princess, a daughter of the Georgian Khan – Simon. [3; 16, p. 200].

 It is more likely that these Georgian Bagrationi prin­cesses from Georgia, sent at the request of Abbas, to the Shah’s court by Kings of Kartli and Kakheti Simon and Aleksander, were considered to be the daughters of the Kings. Indeed, they were Princesses and daughters of the Kings, however, the Kings who sent them were their grandfathers and not their fathers.[1]

Thus, the peculiarities of English original sources on Georgian Christian Princesses can be fully explained, however, there are some other details in the narration of Sherley and Herbert that still need more elaboration and critical discussion. It is possible that Sherley himself was the witness of only one Princess’ arrival at the Court. We should not exclude thepossi­bility that he may have tried to explain some fact relying upon his conjecture as well.[2]

ShahAbbas’ Georgian Christian Wives and a Path of the Man in a Panther-Skin’s to England.The English original sources, concerning the trace of Georgiansin Persiaat the turn of the 16^th-17^th century provide a substantial proof that the English mission, visiting the Shah’s Court in the late 16^th and early 17^th century (a delegation led by Anthony Sherley, Robert Sherley’s family, Thomas Herbert) had close connections with the Georgian circles at the Shah’s Court (Alaverdi Khan and his family, Shah’s Georgian wives, Shah-Thamaz Khulibeg, Konstantine Mirza…). My interest in the issue mentioned above is closely linked to my research regarding the path through which the plot of the MPS penetrated the English dramaturgy circles in the early 17^th century. The visit of the English delegation led by Anthony Sherley and their relation­ship with high-ranking Georgians sojourning the Shah’s Court provides a substantial and reliable evidence for the assumption with regards to the penetration of the plot of the MPS in the circles of the English dramaturgy.

The English historical writing describing Sherley’s trav­els asserts that the Shah’s two Georgian Christian wives provid­ed a substantial assistance to Sherley’s delegation. Even Sherley himself, in his book about his travells, published in London (1613), mentions these two wives with great sympathy and re­spect.

More detailed notes regarding the Shah’s two Georgian Christian wives and their sons were provided by Sir Thomas Herbert, an English military attaché in Perisain 1627-29. The reason the notes about the two wives provided by Herbert are the most significant is that his narration is based on the infor­mation provided by Robert Sherley, Anthony Sherley’s brother who was a direct witness of the events taking place at the time in Persia. Thomas Herbert visitied Persia with Robert Sherley and his family. He also accompanied Robert Sherley at a sever­al-day feast arranged by Alaverdi Khan’s son Imam-Khuli Khan (Georgian with origin). Thus, his notes and his interest in these two wives and their offspring are presumably related to the stories about the Sherley family.

Thus, presumably, the Georgian Christian wives of the Shah were among all highranking Georgians assisting and con­sulting Sherley and his companions with regard to the render­ing the plot of the great Georgian Romance The Man in a Pan­ther-skin from Georgian into English. The establishement of the close relationship between English intellectuals interested in literary, folk and historical tales, with Christian Princesses having just arrived from Georgia, once again confirms the con­jecture that these intellectuals were the ones to spread the great epicby Rustaveli among the English circles.

The fact that the MPS was one of the most valuable to­ken in the dowery of Georgian brides in old times has been causiously retained in the memory of every Georgian. It is highly likely that the Georgian princesses, the brides of the Shah, having abandoned their homeland forever carried not only the MPS as the part of their dowery but also the effection for the story of the Georgian Love Romance.

Bibliography

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2.   Briggs (Major-General), “A Short Account of the Sherley Family”:The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 6, #1 (1841).

3.   The Chronicle of the Carmelits and Papal mission in Persia XVII-XVIII centuries, v. I. London 1939.

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21.            Jamburia G., “The struggle of the Georgian People against foreign Invaders”: History of Georgia, v. III. Tb. 2012. / ჯამბურია გ., „ქართველი ხალხის ბრძოლა უცხოელ დამპყრობელთა წინააღ­მდეგ XVII საუკუნის პირველ მეოთხედში“: საქართვე­ლოს ისტორია (ოთხ ტომად), ტ. III, თბ. 2012.